Whether a culture is collectivistic or individualist depends on its emphasis of social roles and ideas about maturity. In a collectivist culture, social roles, and the importance of the 'greater good', are emphasized. People in collectivistic cultures tend to describe themselves as members of specific ingroups - "We are Christian", "We are the Smith family", "I am father, son, brother, and friend"; pronouns such as 'we', 'us', and 'they' are commonly used. The public self is most important, and others' needs come first. Members of collectivistic cultures tend to strive toward acceptance as part of a group, and tend to feel rejected if they don't share the values of or belong to a certain group. On the other hand, emotions such as anger and striving for independence are considered immature.

The private self is emphasized in individualist cultures. It is not so important to belong to a group as it is to "know yourself" and develop individual talents and so on. For this reason, members of individualistic cultures describe themselves in terms of personal beliefs and unique qualities, such as "I like to play baseball" and "I am a logical thinker"; pronouns like "I", "me", and "you" are more common. Individuals in individualist cultures who are dependent on others, constantly seek others' approval, and feel sad or lonely when not part of a certain ingroup are usually considered immature. The emphasis on the individual is especially apparent in the greater proportion of laws and values based on individual rights as opposed to laws protecting groups (see the discussion on Markus & Kitayama's model of socialization for more information).

While collectivism/individualism focuses on the role of the individual in a group, tightness/looseness refers to the level of freedom individuals have to be individuals, and the clarity of social expectations (including punishments for not living up to those expectations).

Tight cultures have very clear norms and expectations. Members who break these norms are usually required to give up membership in that group, provided that the member was aware of expectations and purposely defied them. However, compared to loose cultures, there are certain situations in which breaking norms is accepted and even expected. An example of accepted norm-breaking is in the case of mental illness. Tight cultures tend to have a much higher tolerance of mental illness than do loose cultures. Triandis also describes a scenario in a highly tight culture in which employees at a drinking party are expected to break the norm of courtesy and proper behavior, and are expected to drink and tell off their boss to his face (Triandis 1989).

Loose cultures, on the other hand, expect individuals to have views and behaviors that are independent of the larger group. Differing opinions, unique views, personal beliefs, and actions that express one's self-construal are expected and encouraged. Members of loose cultures who have values, ideas, etc. based on a certain group's values are considered to be conformers. This generally has a negative connotation in loose (and individualistic) cultures.